U.S. patent number 10,242,890 [Application Number 13/205,020] was granted by the patent office on 2019-03-26 for substrate support with heater.
This patent grant is currently assigned to APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.. The grantee listed for this patent is Mayur G. Kulkarni, Leon Volfovski. Invention is credited to Mayur G. Kulkarni, Leon Volfovski.
United States Patent |
10,242,890 |
Volfovski , et al. |
March 26, 2019 |
Substrate support with heater
Abstract
Embodiments of substrate supports with a heater are provided
herein. In some embodiments, a substrate support may include a
first member to distribute heat to a substrate when present above a
first surface of the first member; a heater coupled to the first
member and having one or more heating zones to provide heat to the
first member; a second member disposed beneath the first member; a
tubular body disposed between the first and second members, wherein
the tubular body forms a gap between the first and second members;
and a plurality of substrate support pins disposed a first distance
above the first surface of the first member, the plurality of
substrate support pins to support a backside surface of a substrate
when present on the substrate support.
Inventors: |
Volfovski; Leon (Mountain View,
CA), Kulkarni; Mayur G. (San Jose, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Volfovski; Leon
Kulkarni; Mayur G. |
Mountain View
San Jose |
CA
CA |
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. (Santa
Clara, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
47669155 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/205,020 |
Filed: |
August 8, 2011 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130037532 A1 |
Feb 14, 2013 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B
3/145 (20130101); H01L 21/6875 (20130101); H05B
3/265 (20130101); H01L 21/67109 (20130101); H05B
2203/005 (20130101); H05B 2203/007 (20130101); H05B
2203/037 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H05B
3/06 (20060101); H01L 21/67 (20060101); H01L
21/687 (20060101); H05B 3/14 (20060101); H05B
3/26 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;219/390,444.1,385,405,411,416 ;118/728 ;438/691 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2002-237375 |
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Aug 2002 |
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JP |
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2002-329567 |
|
Nov 2002 |
|
JP |
|
2002-359281 |
|
Dec 2002 |
|
JP |
|
2009-117441 |
|
May 2009 |
|
JP |
|
10-2009-0101093 |
|
Sep 2009 |
|
KR |
|
Other References
US. Appl. No. 13/014,827, filed Jan. 27, 2011, Volfovski et al.
cited by applicant .
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Feb. 19, 2013
for PCT Application No. PCT/US2012/048781. cited by applicant .
Search Report for Taiwan Invention Patent Application No. 101127756
dated Nov. 23, 2015. cited by applicant .
Search Report from The State Intellectual Property Office of The
People's Republic of China dated Oct. 13, 2015 received for China
Application No. 2012800388389. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Chou; Jimmy
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Moser Taboada Taboada; Alan
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A substrate support, comprising: a first member to distribute
heat to a substrate when present above a first surface of the first
member; a heater comprising a layer that is coupled to and
substantially covers a bottom surface of the first member, the
heater having one or more heating zones to provide heat to the
first member; a second member disposed beneath the first member; a
tubular body disposed between the heater and the second member,
wherein the tubular body forms a gap between the first and second
members and wherein the tubular body is in direct contact with the
heater; a plurality of substrate support pins disposed a first
distance above the first surface of the first member, the plurality
of substrate support pins to support a backside surface of a
substrate when present on the substrate support; one or more purge
gas channels disposed in the first member fluidly coupling the gap
to the first surface in a region disposed radially outward of any
substrate support pin on the first surface of the first member, the
one or more purge gas channels extending radially inward to the gap
from the region disposed radially outward of any substrate support
pin; a plurality of lift pin holes formed into the first member,
the heater, and the second member; and a plurality of tubes
disposed in the gap corresponding to and aligned with the plurality
of lift pin holes to isolate the plurality of lift pin holes from
the gap, the plurality of tubes disposed between the heater and the
second member, wherein the plurality of tubes is in direct contact
with the heater.
2. The substrate support of claim 1, further comprising: an
alignment guide extending from the first surface of the first
member and disposed about the plurality of substrate support
pins.
3. The substrate support of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality
of substrate support pins extends from the first surface of the
first member.
4. The substrate support of claim 1, further comprising: a support
layer disposed on the first surface of the first member, wherein
each of the plurality of substrate support pins extend from a
surface of the support layer.
5. The substrate support of claim 1, wherein the heater further
comprises: a plurality of heating zones having a plurality of
resistive heating elements, wherein the plurality of heating zones
comprises one or more of the plurality of resistive heating
elements.
6. The substrate support of claim 5, further comprising: a third
member disposed beneath the first member and above the tubular
body, wherein each of the plurality of resistive heating elements
are disposed in the third member.
7. The substrate support of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality
of resistive heating elements are disposed in the first member.
8. The substrate support of claim 5, wherein each of the plurality
of resistive heating elements is disposed on a lower surface of the
first member, and further comprising: a coating comprising an
insulating material and covering the plurality of resistive heating
elements disposed on the lower surface of the first member.
9. The substrate support of claim 1, further comprising: a
feedthrough assembly coupled to an opening in the second member,
wherein the feedthrough assembly defines an interior volume that is
isolated from and excludes the gap and wherein an atmosphere of the
interior volume is independently controllable with respect to an
atmosphere of the gap, wherein the feedthrough assembly includes a
conduit extending through the interior volume and coupled to the
gap.
10. The substrate support of claim 1, wherein the first member and
the second member are sintered to the tubular body.
11. A substrate support, comprising: a first member to distribute
heat to a substrate when present above a first surface of the first
member, the first surface of the first member having a
substantially flat upper surface separated from the substrate; a
plurality of substrate support pins extending from the first
surface of the first member to support a backside surface of a
substrate when present on the substrate support and that partially
define a volume between the first surface and the backside surface
of the substrate when present; one or more resistive heating
elements disposed in the first member; a second member disposed
below the first member; a tubular body disposed between the first
member and the second member and forming a gap between a lower
surface of the first member and an upper surface of the second
member, the tubular body directly engaging in recesses about
peripheral edges of tubular body facing surfaces of the first
member and the second member; a conduit extending through the first
member, the second member, and the gap to supply or remove a gas to
or from the volume while remaining isolated from the gap; and a
support ring surrounding the plurality of substrate support pins
that, together with the plurality of substrate support pins,
defines the volume between the first surface of the first member
and the backside surface of the substrate when present, wherein the
volume is fluidly isolated from the gap by the substrate when the
substrate is disposed on the support ring.
12. The substrate support of claim 11, further comprising: an
alignment guide extending from the first surface of the first
member and about the plurality of substrate support pins.
13. The substrate support of claim 11, wherein the one or more
resistive heating elements comprise a plurality of resistive
heating elements, and wherein the plurality of resistive heating
elements are arranged into one or more heating zones.
14. The substrate support of claim 11, further comprising: a
feedthrough assembly coupled to an opening in the second member,
wherein the feedthrough assembly defines an interior volume that is
separated from and excludes the gap and wherein an atmosphere of
the interior volume is independently controllable with respect to
an atmosphere of the gap, wherein the feedthrough assembly includes
a conduit extending through the interior volume and coupled to the
gap.
15. The substrate support of claim 11, wherein the first member and
the second member are sintered to the tubular body.
16. The substrate support of claim 1, further comprising: a conduit
extending through the first member, the second member, and the gap
to supply or remove a gas to or from a volume disposed between the
first surface and the backside surface of the substrate, when
present.
17. The substrate support of claim 5, wherein the heater further
comprises: one of the one or more heating zones comprising at least
one resistive heating element, wherein the one of the one or more
heating zones underlies and spans the plurality of heating
zones.
18. The substrate support of claim 11, further comprising: one or
more purge gas channels disposed through the first member radially
outward of the plurality of substrate support pins and fluidly
coupling the gap to a second gap disposed in a region proximate to
an edge of the substrate, when present, the one or more purge gas
channels extending radially inward to the gap from the second gap
disposed in the region proximate to the edge of the substrate.
19. The substrate support of claim 11, further comprising: one or
more second resistive heating elements disposed in the first member
and that underlie and span the one or more resistive heating
elements.
20. A substrate support, comprising: a first member to distribute
heat to a substrate when present above a first surface of the first
member; a heater comprising a layer that is coupled to and
substantially covers a bottom surface of the first member, the
heater having one or more heating zones to provide heat to the
first member; at least one temperature monitoring device embedded
in and aligned with the first surface of the first member; a second
member disposed beneath the first member; a tubular body disposed
between the heater and the second member, wherein the tubular body
includes a sidewall forming a gap between the first member and the
second member, wherein the tubular body is in direct contact with
the heater; a plurality of substrate support pins disposed a first
distance above the first surface of the first member to support a
backside surface of the substrate when present on the substrate
support; a plurality of tubes disposed in the gap to isolate the
plurality of substrate support pins from the gap, the plurality of
tubes disposed between the heater and the second member, wherein
the plurality of tubes is in direct contact with the heater; and a
support ring surrounding the plurality of substrate support pins
that defines a volume between the first surface of the first member
and the backside surface of the substrate when present, wherein the
volume is fluidly isolated from the gap by the substrate when the
substrate is disposed on the support ring.
Description
FIELD
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to substrate
processing equipment, and more specifically to a substrate
support.
BACKGROUND
As the critical dimensions of devices continue to shrink, improved
control over processes, such as heating, cooling, or the like may
be required. For example, a substrate support may include a heater
to provide a desired temperature of a substrate disposed on the
substrate support during processing.
Thus, the inventors have provided an improved substrate support
having a heater to facilitate control of the temperature of a
substrate.
SUMMARY
Embodiments of substrate supports with a heater are provided
herein. In some embodiments, a substrate support may include a
first member to distribute heat to a substrate when present above a
first surface of the first member; a heater coupled to the first
member and having one or more heating zones to provide heat to the
first member; a second member disposed beneath the first member; a
tubular body disposed between the first and second members, wherein
the tubular body forms a gap between the first and second members;
and a plurality of substrate support pins disposed a first distance
above the first surface of the first member, the plurality of
substrate support pins to support a backside surface of a substrate
when present on the substrate support.
In some embodiments, a substrate support may include a first member
to distribute heat to a substrate when present above a first
surface of the first member; a plurality of substrate support pins
extending from the first surface of the first member to support a
backside surface of a substrate when present on the substrate
support; one or more resistive heating elements disposed in the
first member; a second member disposed below the first member; and
a tubular body disposed between the first and second members and
forming a gap between a lower surface of the first member and an
upper surface of the second member.
In some embodiments, a substrate support may include a first member
to distribute heat to a substrate when present above an upper
surface of the first member; a plurality of substrate support pins
extend from a surface of the first member to support a backside
surface of a substrate when present on the substrate support; one
or more heating zones each having one or more resistive heating
elements, wherein the one or more heating zones are disposed on a
lower surface of the first member; a second member disposed below
the first member; and a tubular body disposed between the first and
second members and forming a gap between the lower surface of the
first member and an upper surface of the second member.
Other and further embodiments of the present invention are
described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the present invention, briefly summarized above and
discussed in greater detail below, can be understood by reference
to the illustrative embodiments of the invention depicted in the
appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended
drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and
are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the
invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
FIG. 1 depicts a schematic side view of a substrate support in
accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A-C depict cross-sectional side views of portions of
substrate supports in accordance with some embodiments of the
present invention.
FIGS. 3A-C depict cross-sectional side views of portions of
substrate supports in accordance with some embodiments of the
present invention.
FIG. 4 depicts a top view of a multi-zone heater in accordance with
some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 5 depicts a schematic side view of a substrate support in
accordance with some embodiments of the present invention.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been
used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are
common to the figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and may
be simplified for clarity. It is contemplated that elements and
features of one embodiment may be beneficially incorporated in
other embodiments without further recitation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments of substrate supports having a heater are disclosed
herein. The inventive substrate support may advantageously
facilitate one or more of heating a substrate, maintaining the
temperature of a substrate, or distributing heat to a substrate in
a desired profile.
FIG. 1 depicts a substrate support 100 in accordance with some
embodiments of the present invention. The substrate support 100 may
include a first member 102 to distribute heat to a substrate 103
when present above a first surface 104 (e.g., an upper surface) of
the first member 102 and a heater 106 having one or more heating
zones 108 to provide heat to the first member 102. Optionally, the
heater 106 may further include a second heating zone 301 (as
illustrated in FIGS. 3A-B) which underlies and spans the one or
more heating zones 108. The second heating zone 301 may be utilized
to achieve a base temperature across the first member 102 and the
one or more heating zones 108 may be utilized for fine adjustment
of the temperature in each location of the first member 102, for
example, to achieve a uniform distribution of temperature on the
substrate 103 or to achieve a desired non-uniform distribution of
temperature on the substrate 103. As shown in FIG. 1, the heater
106 can be disposed below the first member 102. However, this is
merely one exemplary embodiment of the heater 106. The heater 106
may be disposed in the first member 102, on a surface of the first
member 102, or below the first member 102. Embodiments of the
heater 106 are discussed with respect to FIGS. 3A-B, below.
In some embodiments, the substrate support may provide temperatures
ranging from about 450 degrees Celsius to about 600 degrees
Celsius. However, embodiments of the substrate support disclosed
herein are not limited to the above-mentioned temperature range.
For example, the temperature may be lower, such as from about 150
degrees Celsius to about 450 degrees Celsius, or higher, such as
greater than about 600 degrees Celsius.
The substrate support 100 may include a second member 107 disposed
beneath the first member 102. The second member 107 may function as
a facilities management plate, such as for wire and/or piping
management to the one or more heating zones 108 or the like. In
some embodiments, the second member 107 may serve as a thermal
insulator, preventing convective losses to environment below. For
example, when used as a thermal insulator, the second member 107
may comprise a thermally resistive material, such as MACOR.RTM. or
any suitable thermally resistive material, such as a ceramic
material or the like.
The second member 107 may include an opening 109, for example,
centrally disposed through the second member 107. The opening 109
may be utilized to couple a feedthrough assembly 111 to the members
102, 107 of the substrate support 100. The feedthrough assembly 111
may feed various sources and/or control devices, such as a power
source 126 to the one or more heating zones 108, or a controller
122 as discussed below. In some embodiments, the feedthrough
assembly 111 may include a conduit 140 which can at least one of
provide a gas from a gas source 141 to the backside of the
substrate 103 or provide a vacuum from a vacuum pump 143 to secure
the substrate 103 to the substrate support 100. For example, the
vacuum or gas may be alternately provided by a multi-way valve 147
coupling the vacuum pump 143 and gas source 141 to the conduit 140.
For example, the gas provided by the conduit 140 may be utilized to
improve heat transfer between the first member 102 and the
substrate 103. In some embodiments, the gas is helium (He). For
example, in operation, the vacuum pump 143 may be used to secure
the substrate 103 to the substrate support 100. After the substrate
103 is secured, the gas source 141 may provide a gas to the space
between the substrate 103 and the first member 102 to improve heat
transfer.
The conduit 140 may include a flexible section 142, such as a
bellows or the like. Such flexibility in the conduit 140 may be
helpful, for example, when the substrate support 100 is leveled,
and/or during thermal deformation or expansion of the substrate
support 100 during heating. For example, the substrate support 100
may be leveled by one or more leveling devices (not shown) disposed
about the feedthrough assembly 111 and through one or more members
of the substrate support 100. For example, such leveling devices
may include kinematic jacks or the like. Further, the feedthrough
assembly 111 may include a second conduit 160 having a flexible
section 162 to exhaust the gas provided by the gas source 141
through the conduit 140 as illustrated in FIG. 1.
A tubular body 152 may be disposed between the first and second
members 102, 107. The tubular body 152 and may be utilized to
provide a gap 154 between the first and second members 102, 107
and/or to provide an additional space for electrical wires, fluid
or gas conduits, or the like to be provided to components of the
substrate support 100 disposed above. For example, in some
embodiments, the gap 154 may be formed between a lower surface
(e.g., a lower surface 302 as illustrated in FIG. 3A-B) of the
first member 102 and an upper surface 105 of the second member 105.
The gap 154 may be filled with a gas, such as air, helium (He) or
the like. The gas may be used as a thermally resistive gas or a
heat transfer gas. For example, the composition of the gas may be
selected based on the desired temperature profiles required for
processes being performed a processing system using the support
100. Thus, the gap 154 may be used to conduct heat from the one or
more heating zones 108 coupled to the first layer 102 to the second
member 107 by providing a gas that is a good thermal conductor. An
exemplary gas for heat conduction may be helium (He).
Alternatively, the gap 154 may be used to insulate the support 100
from heat loss, for example, by creating a vacuum in the gap 154.
For example, the gap 154 may be coupled to a vacuum pump, such as
the vacuum pump 141 (coupling not illustrated in FIG. 1) or another
vacuum pump (not shown). The tubular body 152 may comprise
stainless steel or the like. Further, the tubular body 152 may be
fitted to the first and second members 102, 107 in any suitable
manner, for example, such as disposed in recesses 350 about the
peripheral edges of tubular body-facing surfaces of the first and
second members 102, 107 or the like. Alternatively, the tubular
member 152 may be a lip or protrusion extending from the first
member 102 or the second member 107.
The feedthrough assembly 111 may include a volume 115. The volume
115 may be isolated from the gap 154 and have an atmosphere that
may be independently controlled. For example, the volume 115 may be
may be coupled to one or more of a gas source, such as the gas
source 141 (coupling not illustrated in FIG. 1) or another gas
source (not shown), or a vacuum pump, such as vacuum pump 143
(coupling not illustrated in FIG. 1) or another vacuum pump (not
shown) to provide a gas and/or vacuum in the volume 115.
The feedthrough assembly 111 may include additional conduits for
providing vacuum and/or gas to regions in the substrate support
100. For example, the feedthrough assembly may include a conduit
164 to provide one or more of a vacuum, or a gas to the gap 154.
For example, the conduit 164 may include a flexible section (not
shown) similar to other conduits mentioned above for similar
reasoning. For example, the conduit 164 may be used to couple the
gap 154 to one or more of a vacuum pump, such as the vacuum pump
143 (coupling not illustrated in FIG. 1) or another vacuum pump
(not shown), or a gas source, such as the gas source 141 (coupling
not illustrated in FIG. 1) and/or another gas source, for example,
such as a purge gas source 121. For example, the purge gas source
121 may be used to provide a purge gas to limit the deposition of
materials on the backside of the substrate 103 during processing.
For example, the purge gas may be provided to the backside of the
substrate 103 via one or more purge gas channels 119 disposed in
the first member 102. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the one or more
purge gas channels 119 may fluidly couple the purge gas provided by
the conduit 164 to the gap 154 to a gap 117 disposed proximate the
edge of the substrate 103. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1,
the gap 117 may be formed between an alignment guide 118 and the
peripheral edge of the substrate 103 on the first surface 104 of
the first member 102. The purge gas may include one or more of
helium (He), nitrogen (N2), or any suitable inert gas. The purge
gas may be exhausted via the gap 117 and may limit or prevent
process gases from reaching and reacting with a backside of the
substrate 103 during processing. The purge gas may be exhausted
from the process chamber via the exhaust system of the process
chamber (not shown) to appropriately handle the exhausted purge
gas. Alternatively, (not shown) the one or more purge gas channels
may be disposed through and about the alignment guide 118 to
provide a purge gas to the gap 117.
The members of the substrate support 100 may be coupled together by
any number of suitable mechanisms. For example, suitable mechanisms
may include gravity, adhesives, bonding, brazing, molding,
mechanical compression (such as by screws, springs, one or more
clamps, vacuum, or the like), or the like. A non-limiting exemplary
form of mechanical compression is illustrated in FIG. 1. For
example, a compression assembly 145 may include a rod 144 disposed
through one or several members of the substrate support 100 and
used to compress first member 102 (and any members between the
first and second members 102, 107) with the second member 107. The
rod 144 is illustrated as a single piece, but may be multiple
pieces (not shown) connected together by a hinge, ball and socket
structure or the like to facilitate relative movement between the
multiple pieces, if necessary. The rod 144 may provide flexibility
for leveling the substrate support 100, similar to as discussed
above for the conduit 140.
The rod 144 may be coupled to the first member 102 for example
through brazing, welding, or the like, or the rod 144 may be
threaded and screwed into a corresponding threaded opening in the
first member 102 that is configured to receive the rod 144 (not
shown). An opposing end of the rod 144 may be coupled to the second
member 107 via a spring 146 or other suitable resilient structure.
For example, a first end of the spring 146 may be coupled to the
rod 144 and an opposing second end of the spring 146 may be coupled
to the second member 107. As shown in FIG. 1, a bolt 150 disposed
in the second member 107 is coupled to the second end of the spring
146. In some embodiments, a cover 148 may be provided over the bolt
150. Although the spring 146 is shown providing a compressive force
to pull the rod 144 towards the second member 107, the rod 144 and
spring 146 could also be configured to provide the desired coupling
force by expansion of the spring 146. Although only one compression
assembly 145 is illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of compression
assemblies 145 may be provided, for example, disposed about a
central axis of the support 100. In some embodiments, three
compression assemblies 145 may be disposed symmetrically about the
central axis of the support 100.
Alternatively, the members of the substrate support 100 may be
coupled together by sintering the members together. For example,
sintering the members together may improve heat transfer between
members. For example, an embodiment of the substrate support 100
having members sintered together is illustrated in FIG. 5. For
example, as shown in FIG. 5, the compression assembly(s) 145 may be
absent and the first member 102, the heater 106, the tubular body
152 and the second member 107 may be sintered together. For
example, each member may be formed individually and then sintered
to together. For example, the tubular body 152 and the second
member 107 may be formed separated and then sintered together after
formation. For example, in some embodiments, each member may be
formed from aluminum nitride (AlN) or any suitable ceramic
material. Further, although illustrated in FIG. 5 as structural
member, the heater 106 may be any suitable embodiment of a heater
as illustrated in FIGS. 3A-C and discussed below. Similarly,
although the first member 102 may be illustrated in FIG. 5 to have
aspects consistent with embodiments of the first member 102 as
illustrated in FIG. 2A and discussed below, the first member 102
may be any suitable embodiment of a first member as illustrated in
FIGS. 2A-C and discussed below.
In some embodiments, the substrate support 100 may include a
plurality of substrate support pins 112 disposed a first distance
above the first surface 104 of the first member 102, the plurality
of substrate support pins 112 can support a backside surface of the
substrate 103 when present on the substrate support. The plurality
of substrate support pins 112 may be surrounded by a support ring
123. The support ring 123 may contact the backside of the substrate
103 proximate the peripheral edge of the substrate 103. For
example, the support ring 123 may be used, for example, to define a
space or volume between the backside of the substrate 103 and the
substrate support 100. For example, the space may be used to form a
vacuum for securing the substrate 103 to support 100 and/or to
provide a gas for heat transfer between the support 100 and the
substrate 103 as discussed above.
In some embodiments, (as illustrated by the dotted lines proximate
each support pin 112 and the support ring 123) each of the
plurality of substrate support pins and support ring 123 may extend
from the first surface 104 of the first member 102 (e.g., the
substrate support pins 112 and support ring 123 may be a part of,
and formed in the first member 102). Alternatively, in some
embodiments, a support layer 116 may be disposed on the first
surface 104 of the first member 102 and each of the plurality of
substrate support pins 112 and the support ring 123 may extend from
a surface 114 of the support layer 116. In some embodiments, the
support layer 116 and each of the plurality of substrate support
pins 112 and the support ring 123 may be formed from the same
material. For example, the support layer 116 and the each of the
substrate support pins 112 and the support ring 123 may be a
one-piece structure (illustrated in FIG. 2A and discussed below).
The support layer and each of the plurality of substrate support
pins 112 and the support ring 123 can be formed of suitable
process-compatible materials having wear resistant properties. For
example, materials may be compatible with the substrate, with
processes to be performed on the substrate, or the like. In some
embodiments, the support layer 116 and/or the substrate support
pins 112 and/or the support ring 123 may be fabricated from a
dielectric material. In some embodiments, the materials used to
form the support layer 116 and/or the substrate support pins 112
and/or the support ring 123 may include one or more of a polyimide
(such as KAPTON.RTM.), aluminum oxide (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), aluminum
nitride (AlN), silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2), silicon nitride
(Si.sub.3N.sub.4), silicon carbon (SiC) or the like. In some
embodiments, for example for low temperature applications (e.g., at
temperatures below about 200 degrees Celsius), the support layer
116 and/or the substrate support pins 112 and/or the support ring
123 may comprise KAPTON.RTM..
In some embodiments, the substrate support 100 may include the
alignment guide 118 extending from the first surface 104 of the
first member 102 and about the plurality of substrate support pins
112. The alignment guide 118 may serve to guide, center, and/or
align the substrate 103, such as with respect to the one or more
heating zones 108 disposed below the substrate 103, for example,
when the substrate is lowered onto the substrate support pins 112
by a plurality of lift pins (not shown--lift pins holes 113 are
illustrated in FIG. 1 and may extend through support layer 116 and
first and second member 102, 107). The lift pin holes 113 may be
isolated from the gap 154, for example, by any suitable structure,
such as tubes 125, which isolate the lift pin holes 113 from the
gap 154. For example, the tubes 125 may prevent a gas provided to
the gap 154 from reaching the backside of the substrate 103 via the
lift pin holes 113.
The alignment guide 118 may be formed of suitable process
compatible materials, such as materials having wear resistant
properties and/or a low coefficient of thermal expansion. The
alignment guide 118 may be a single piece or an assembly of
multiple components. In some embodiments, the alignment guide 118
may be fabricated from a dielectric material. For example, suitable
materials used to form the alignment guide 118 may include one or
more of CELAZOLE.RTM. PBI (polybenzlmidazole), aluminum oxide
(Al.sub.2O.sub.3), or the like. Generally, materials for any of the
various components of the substrate support 100 may be selected
based on chemical and thermal compatibility of the materials with
each other and/or with a given process application.
The first member 102 may be utilized to distribute heat to the
substrate 103. For example, the first member may act as a heat
spreader to diffuse the heat provided by the one or more heating
zones 108. In some embodiments, the first member 102 may include
one or more temperature monitoring devices 120 embedded in the
first member 102 or extending through the first member 102 to
monitor the temperature being provided to the substrate 103 at one
or more positions along the first surface 104 of the first member
102. The temperature monitoring devices 120 may include any
suitable device for monitoring temperature, such as one or more of
a temperature sensor, resistance temperature device (RTD), optical
sensor, or the like. The one or more temperature monitoring devices
120 may be coupled to a controller 122 to receive temperature
information from each of the plurality of the temperature
monitoring devices 120. The controller 122 may further be used to
control the heating zones 108 in response to the temperature
information, as discussed further below. The first member 102 may
be formed of suitable process-compatible materials, such as
materials having one or more of high thermal conductivity, high
rigidity, and a low coefficient of thermal expansion. In some
embodiment, the first member 102 may have a thermal conductivity of
at least about 140 W/mK. In some embodiment, the first member 102
may have a coefficient of thermal expansion of about
9.times.10.sup.-6/.degree. C. or less. Examples of suitable
materials used to form the first member 102 may include one or more
of aluminum (Al), copper (Cu) or alloys thereof, aluminum nitride
(AlN), beryllium oxide (BeO), pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN),
silicon nitride (Si.sub.3N.sub.4), aluminum oxide
(Al.sub.2O.sub.3), silicon carbide (SiC), graphite coated with PBN,
AlN coated with yttria (Y.sub.2O.sub.3), or the like. Other
suitable coating that may be utilized with the first member 102
include diamond like coatings (DLCs) or the like.
Variations of the first member 102, the plurality of substrate
support pins 112, and the alignment guide 118 are possible. For
example, such variations may depend on the process being performed
on the substrate 103 and/or the composition of the substrate 103.
For example, depending on temperature requirements for a given
process, the first member 102 may be formed of a material having a
specific thermal conductivity or the like; however, such a material
may contaminate the substrate 103 if the backside of the substrate
103 is exposed to the first surface 104 of the first member 102.
Accordingly, the support layer 116 may be utilized under such
conditions and be formed of a different material than the first
member 102, where the different material will not contaminate the
substrate 103. Similarly, the alignment guide 118 may be formed of
a different material than the first member 102 for a similar
reason. For example, FIG. 2A depicts an embodiment of the substrate
support 100 which includes the alignment guide 118, the support
layer 116 and the plurality of support pins extending from the
support layer 116, and the first member 102, wherein the alignment
guide 118 and the support layer 116 and support pins 112 are formed
from different materials than the first member 102.
Alternatively, depending on the process being performed on the
substrate 103 and/or the composition of the substrate 103, the
first member 102, the plurality of substrate support pins 112, and
the alignment guide 118 may be formed of the same material as
illustrated in FIG. 2B. For example, wherein the material of the
first member is compatible with the process being performed on the
substrate 103 and/or the composition of the substrate 103, then
embodiments of the substrate support 100 as shown in FIG. 2B may be
used. As the support layer 116 is integral with the first member
102 in FIG. 2B, a separate support layer 116 is not shown in FIG.
2B. However, the support layer 116 may be considered to be an upper
portion of the first member 102.
Alternatively, depending on the process being performed on the
substrate 103 and/or the composition of the substrate, the first
member 102 may vary in thickness as illustrated in FIG. 2C. For
example, the thickness variation along the first member 102 may
facilitate a desired heating profile along the substrate 103 and/or
compensate for non-uniformities in a process being performed on the
frontside surface of the substrate 103, such as deposition, curing,
baking, annealing, etching, and others. For example, in some
embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, the first member 102 may
increase in thickness from the center to an edge of the first
member 102. However, the embodiments of FIG. 2C are merely
illustrative, and the thickness of the first member 102 may be
varied in any suitable manner to provide a desired heating profile
along the substrate 103. As illustrated in FIG. 2C, when the
thickness of the first member 102 is varied, the plurality of
support pins 112 may have varying lengths to compensate for the
thickness variation in the first member 102. As shown in FIG. 2C,
each support pin 112 has a length such that it contacts a backside
surface of the substrate 103 at about the same vertical height. The
plurality of support pins 112 may be individually fashioned and
coupled to the first member 102 as illustrated in FIG. 2C.
Alternatively, (not shown) the plurality of support pins 112 may be
integral with the first member 102, for example, similar to the
embodiments of the support pins 112 shown in FIG. 2B.
Returning to FIG. 1, the heater 106 may include one or more
resistive heating elements 124. For example, each of the one or
more heating zones 108 includes one or more resistive heating
elements 124. Although illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3A-D as being
uniformly distributed, the one or more heating zones 108 may be
distributed in any suitable configuration that is desired to
provide a desired temperature profile on the substrate 103. Each of
the resistive heating elements 124 may be coupled to a power source
126. The power source 126 may provide any suitable type of power,
such as direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC), which is
compatible with the resistive heating elements 124. The power
source 126 may be coupled to and controlled by the controller 122
or by another controller (not shown), such as a system controller
for controlling a process chamber having the substrate support
disposed therein, or the like. In some embodiments, the power
source 126 may further include a power divider (not shown) that
divides the power provided to the resistive heating elements 124 in
each heating zone 108. For example, the power divider may act in
response to one or more of the temperature monitoring devices 120
to selectively distribute power to the resistive heating elements
124 in specific heating zones 108. Alternatively, in some
embodiments, multiple power sources may be provided for the
resistive heating elements in each respective heater zone.
For example, one embodiment of a configuration of the one or more
heating zones 108 arranged into six zones is illustrated in FIG. 4,
although greater or fewer zones may also be used. As shown in a top
view, the heating zones 108 may be disposed about a central axis
402 of the substrate support 100. The one or more heating zones 108
may include a first heating zone 404 having a first radius 406
extending from the central axis 402 along the upper surface of the
second member 107 (e.g., a central zone), a second heating zone 408
circumscribing the first heating zone 404 (e.g., a middle zone),
and a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth heating zones 410 disposed
about the second heating zone 408 (e.g., a plurality of outer
zones). In some embodiments, and as shown, each of the four heating
zones 410 may correspond to about one quarter of the outer region
of the substrate support 100. In some embodiments, a temperature
monitoring device (such as the temperature monitoring device 120
discussed above) may be provided to sense data corresponding to the
temperature within each zone (or at a desired location within each
zone). In some embodiments, each temperature monitoring device is
an RTD. Each of the temperature monitoring devices may be coupled
to the controller (such as controller 122 discussed above) to
provide feedback control over each corresponding heating zone
108.
The compact design of the substrate support 100 and the tunability
of heating to adjust for temperature non-uniformities on the
substrate 103 can facilitate one or more of heating a substrate,
maintaining the temperature of a substrate, uniformly distributing
heat to or removing heat from a substrate, or create temperature
non-uniformities on a substrate.
The heater 106 may be coupled to the first member 102 in any
suitable manner, such as disposed in the first member 102, disposed
on a surface of the first member 102, or disposed in a separate
member which is coupled to the first member 102. For example,
several non-limiting variations of the heater 106 are illustrated
in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3A-C. FIGS. 3A-C depict a partial
cross sectional view of the support 100 in an accordance with some
embodiments of the invention. For example, elements, such as the
compression assembly 145, the temperature monitoring device 120,
support pins 112, support layer 116 or other elements of the
support illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2A-B have been omitted, but may
be used in accordance with any of the embodiments of the heater 106
illustrated in FIGS. 3A-C and described below.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the heater 106 may be disposed in
the first member 102. For example, the one or more resistive
elements 124 may be disposed in the first member 102 in any
suitable manner, such as arranged in heating zones 108, to provide
a desired temperature profile to the substrate 103. For example,
the one or more resistive elements 124 may be disposed at any
suitable distance from a lower surface 302 of the first member 102
to provide the desired temperature profile. Although the heating
zones 108 are illustrated as being disposed at the same distance
from the lower surface 302 in FIG. 3A, the distance from the lower
surface 302 may vary for one or more of the heating zones 108.
Optionally, as discussed above, the heater 106 may include a second
heat zone 301 which may be utilized to achieve a base temperature
across the first member 102. The second heat zone 301 may include
one or more resistive elements 303, which may be uniformly
dispersed throughout the second heat zone 301. Although draw as a
single resistive element in FIGS. 3A-C, the element 303 may be one
or more resistive elements 303.
In some embodiments, the heater 106 may include the one or more
resistive heating elements 124 deposited onto the lower surface 302
of the first member 102. For example, deposition may include any
suitable deposition technique for forming a desired pattern of
heating zones 108. For example, the one or more resistive heating
elements 124 may comprise platinum, nichrome, INCONEL.RTM.,
resistive ceramics or other suitable resistive heating materials.
In some embodiments, after the deposition of the one or more
resistive heating elements 124 is complete, a coating 304 may be
used to cover the one or more heating elements disposed on the
lower surface 302. For example, the coating 304 may cover the
entire lower surface 302 as illustrated in FIG. 3B, or be limited
to covering the one or more heating elements 124. The coating 304
may comprise an insulating material, such as a glass, ceramic, or
the like. Optionally, prior to depositing the coating 304, the one
or more resistive elements 303 may also be deposited below the one
or more resistive heating elements 124. For example, the one or
more resistive elements 124 and the one or more resistive elements
303 may be separated by an insulating layer (not shown) such as a
dielectric layer or the like, which can be deposited prior to
depositing the one or more resistive elements 303. Alternatively,
the coating 304 may be deposited to cover the one or more resistive
elements 124, and then the one or more resistive elements 303 may
be deposited atop the coating 304. A second coating (not shown) may
be deposited to cover the one or more resistive elements 303.
In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 3C, the support 100 may
include a third member 306 disposed beneath the first member 102
and above the tubular body 152. The heater 106 may include the one
or more resistive heating elements 124 disposed in the third member
306. For example, deposition may include any suitable deposition
technique for forming a desired pattern of heating zones 108. For
example, and similar to the embodiments of FIG. 3A, the one or more
resistive elements 124--and optionally, the one or more resistive
elements 303--may be disposed in the third member 306 in any
suitable manner, such as arranged in heating zones 108, to provide
a desired temperature profile to the substrate 103. Alternatively,
the third member 306 may comprise two members (not shown), for
example, a first member including the one or more resistive heating
elements 124 and a second member including the one or more
resistive heating elements 303. For example, the one or more
resistive elements 124 may be disposed at any suitable distance
from a lower surface 302 of the first member 102 to provide the
desired temperature profile. Although the heating zones 108 are
illustrated as being disposed at the same distance from the lower
surface 302 in FIG. 3C, the distance from the lower surface 302 may
vary for one or more of the heating zones 108. The third member 306
may be formed of suitable process-compatible materials, such as
materials having one or more of high mechanical strength (e.g.,
Bending strength at least about 200 MPa), high electrical
resistivity (e.g., at least about 10.sup.14 ohm-cm), a low
coefficient of thermal expansion (e.g., no more than about
5.times.10.sup.-6.degree. C.). Suitable materials may include one
or more of silicon carbon (SiC), silicon nitride (Si.sub.3N.sub.4),
aluminum nitride (AlN), aluminum oxide (Al.sub.2O.sub.3), beryllium
oxide (BeO), pyrolytic boron nitride (PBN), graphite coated with
PBN, AlN coated with yttria (Y.sub.2O.sub.3), or the like. Other
suitable coating that may be utilized with the third member 306 may
include diamond like coatings (DLCs) or the like
Thus, embodiments of substrate supports have been disclosed herein.
The inventive substrate support may advantageously facilitate one
or more of heating a substrate, maintaining the temperature of a
substrate, or uniformly distributing heat to or removing heat from
a substrate, or create temperature non-uniformities on a
substrate.
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present
invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be
devised without departing from the basic scope thereof.
* * * * *